In this article about pronunciation, we’re looking at German vowels, particularly double letter sounds. We’ve already explored umlauts and letter combinations in another episode of The Coffee Break German Show. Today, our focus shifts to the short and long pronunciations of vowels, which significantly impact the meaning and clarity of words in German.
The Coffee Break German Show is a video and audio podcast series in which we discuss interesting topics for German learners. In the most recent episode, Mark and Thomas talk about German vowel sounds, and how to know when a vowel has a long or a short sound in German.
To get the most out of this article, listen to the podcast as you read along, or watch the video, and make sure to download your free worksheet at the end to practise what you’ve learned.
Pronunciation of vowels: short vs. long vowel sounds and the role of double consonants
When it comes to the pronunciation of vowels in German, double consonants indicate that it is a short vowel sound directly before them. Here are some examples:
Short vowel sound:
Tasse
cup
Long vowel sound:
Tat
case, deed
Short vowel sound:
Fell
fur
Long vowel sound:
Feder
feather
Short vowel sound:
wissen
to know
Long vowel sound:
Milch
milk
Short vowel sound:
Sommer
summer
Long vowel sound:
rot
red
Short vowel sound:
Suppe
soup
Long vowel sound:
super
super
In each pair, the word with the double consonant (Sommer, Tasse, Fell, wissen, Suppe) has a shorter vowel sound compared to the word below it. There is also a change in pronunciation in the vowel sounds with i and o in these examples.
The effect of double consonants
Tasse – The double s shortens the a sound.
Fell – The double l shortens the e sound.
wissen – The double s shortens the i sound.
Sommer – The double m shortens the o sound.
Suppe – The double p shortens the u sound.
In addition to these, we have:
Short vowel sound:
hacken
to chop
Long vowel sound:
Haken
hook
The ck in hacken shortens the preceding a.
Short vowel sound:
Witz
joke
The tz combination shortens the i sound.
Exceptions to the rule
There are a few exceptions in German pronunciation, particularly with foreign words that have been adopted into German. For example:
Pizza
pizza
Brokkoli
broccoli
These words retain their original spelling and pronunciation rules.
Double consonants in compound words and plurals
Double consonants also appear in compound words and in certain plural forms, but don’t affect the pronunciation of the vowel before them. Let’s look at some examples:
Schifffahrt
boat trip
Note the triple f here, a unique feature in compound words.
annehmen
to accept
The double consonant is made up from the n in an and the start of nehmen. It does not change the a sound at the start of the verb.
The same applies to plural forms of nouns. There is no change in pronunciation of the vowel before the double consonant because of the spelling of the plural:
Lehrerinnen
(female) teachers
The i is pronounced in the same way as in the singular Lehrerin, which is a short vowel sound.
Busse
buses
The u is pronounced in the same way as in the singular Bus, which is a short vowel sound.
Pronunciation of German vowels: extra-long vowel sounds
Double vowels in German, such as aa, ee, and oo, indicate an extra-long vowel sound. For example:
Klee
clover
Boot
boat
Haar
hair
Beere
berry
Another case which results in a long vowel sound is when there is an h after the vowel and before a consonant:
Uhr
clock
Zahl
number
Pronunciation guide: length of vowels
As we’ve seen, the length of pronunciation of vowel sounds in German can vary significantly. For example, we’ve seen:
Sommer – short o
rot – long o
Boot – long oo
Sohn – long o with an h
To hear how all of the words in this article are pronounced, you can watch or listen to the full episode with Thomas and Mark on The Coffee Break German Show. We’ll be releasing the next episode in the series soon, so make sure to subscribe to our podcast feed and our channel on YouTube to find out when it is available.
Looking for more help with your German? We regularly send out free, mini email lessons to our Coffee Break German community, to help you improve your German little and often. Look out for the sign-up box, and we hope that you enjoy your first mini lesson.
Understanding these nuances in vowel length and double consonant usage is crucial for mastering German pronunciation, and we hope that the rules explained in this episode will help you speak more accurately and confidently.
Bis zum nächsten Mal, and happy Coffee Breaking!
